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Need for Speed franchise now headed by Ghost Games

After working with Criterion on Need for Speed: Rivals, Ghost Games will take full control of the racing franchise going forward.

Ghost Games' first foray into the Need for Speed franchise is the upcoming Rivals. However, executive producer Marcus Nilsson revealed that this isn't a one-off. In fact, the studio is taking full control of the franchise going forward.

Nilsson explained to VideoGamer that the decision was out of a desire for continuity. "It cannot go from black to white between Black Box (Need for Speed: The Run) and Criterion (Need for Speed: Most Wanted), and that's why we're now thinking about the brand as Ghost owns it," he said. "We're going to build it, we're going to build it on Frostbite 3, [and] people will see something they are familiar with every time we release the game. And I think that is the core basis of building a brand; that people know what to expect." EA later commented that Nilsson's comments are fully accurate.

Meanwhile, Criterion has been working on an undisclosed project. While fans may desire a new Burnout, it appears that the studio will move away from racing and create something entirely new.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what is video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

Follow him on Twitter at @Ozz_Mejia for musings and random shenanigans.